Manitoba's boards show huge gender gap

Gabrielle Marrin, left, and Shery Feller, right, of the Deposit Guarantee Corporation of Manitoba are joined by Susan Boulter, director of Manitoba Vital Statistics Agency, at a luncheon Wednesday. Purchase Photo Print

One of the province's top businesswomen says Manitoba's corporate gender gap is "abysmal."

But, Ashleigh Everett says, new trends in corporate governance are trickling down to Manitoba and offer some hope.

Everett, head of Domo Gasoline and a corporate director at Scotiabank and MTS Allstream, was a featured speaker at a lunch Wednesday designed to spark a discussion about the shortage of women on private sector boards.

A Free Press analysis last year found only six per cent of board seats for the province's largest publicly-traded companies are women, well below Canada's already very low average.

Subscribers Log in below to continue reading, not a subscriber? Create an account to start a 30 day free trail.

Hope you enjoyed your trial.

Hey there, time traveller!This article was published 15/1/2014 (1310 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

One of the province's top businesswomen says Manitoba's corporate gender gap is "abysmal."

But, Ashleigh Everett says, new trends in corporate governance are trickling down to Manitoba and offer some hope.

Everett, head of Domo Gasoline and a corporate director at Scotiabank and MTS Allstream, was a featured speaker at a lunch Wednesday designed to spark a discussion about the shortage of women on private sector boards.

A Free Press analysis last year found only six per cent of board seats for the province's largest publicly-traded companies are women, well below Canada's already very low average.

Everett said boards are often made up of current or retired CEOs and few women hold those jobs. And, boards often recruit people they already know.

"Combined, these stack the deck against women," said Everett.

But, in the wake of corporate scandals such as Enron, board governance has improved. Old practices such as "overboarding" where one person holds multiple appointments are on the wane. That could open the door for more women, said Everett.

Wednesday's lunch was hosted by the Manitoba chapter of the Institute of Corporate Directors.